Rise to Power
by Arieko
Summary: [AU] When the only thing Yang trusts is her own two fists, how far will she go to get what she wants? Alone, cynical, and angry, will she be able to reach her own personal goal of being the best? Or will she finally succumb to that familiar pit of darkness and despair that lingers in the back of her mind? Only time will tell, and we all know that time is money.[Ladybug on the side]


**A/N: New series to be started once I finish Octane! Decided to treat my readers with the first chapter though since I've been taking so long to update my other stories however. Never say I don't spoil you guys & gals.**

 **Let me know what you think so far! :)**

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She watched on in rapt attention at the giant swinging leather punching bag. Years of abuse and wear were prevalent on it. The once bright red material now many shades darker as it was dented and cracked in various places, but still it stood there. Hanging there waiting, opposing.

Just like the girl who stood before it.

Drenched in sweat and breathing heavily stood a girl slightly taller than most her age. Her wild blonde hair, her most distinguishing feature, tied back into a low ponytail that swung almost in rhythm with the waiting punching bag in front of her.

Dressed in a black sports bra and orange basketball shorts stood one of the top prospects of Rose Gym, her father's establishment. She had come a long way, training and perfecting her technique so she could be not only the best, but the best of the best. Even if her father was the proprietor of the gym, she earned her place at the top by her own blood, sweat, and tears. And if anyone doubted that, then they could come and challenge her themselves.

Yang Xiao Long wouldn't lose to anyone.

A grin crossed her face as her lilac eyes twinkled with arrogance, still staring down the slow swinging punching bag. She had worked up quite a sweat, the hot air that blew from the fans cooling her sweaty skin but she wasn't done quite just yet. No matter how much her arms ached or her muscles burned, she wouldn't slack in her training. She wouldn't give up the top. She still had a long way to go and she wouldn't stop until she was at the pinnacle of greatness and success.

She wouldn't stop until she was a pro.

And with that, the blonde warrior exploded with a straight left, hitting the bag with such force that it left a dent where her hand had connected. But that didn't slow her down as Yang continued her combo, rotating her hip and transferring her weight to her front left foot, swiftly bringing her right leg in a fierce kick.

The chain holding the punching bag creaked and groaned from the abuse, but it would hold. It always did.

Twisting out of the side kick, she continued her barrage of strikes, careful to keep her breathing under control and her guard tight. Even if she wasn't fighting anyone quite just yet, it was important to maintain your guard after every blow. If you slacked on that, then you were done. It was a rookie mistake she learned, and though she preferred attacking she also knew that defense was important… just not _as_ important.

With the sly grin never leaving her face, Yang ceased her attack on the punching bag. She could feel the strain on her body; her arms burned with agony and her legs felt all the torture she had put them through today, but never once did she think about quitting early.

She glanced up at the clock that hung above the gym entrance doors and took note that it was nearly eleven o' clock. Three minutes until as a matter of fact. Just enough time for her to test her new move.

Quickly glancing around the barren gym, Yang knew that there was no one here. She was always the first to arrive and the last to leave. So much so that her father, Tahyang, gave her an extra key to lock up when she was finished.

Doing one last one over of the gym and seeing no one but the various work out equipment, Yang sucked in a deep breath and held it. She closed her eyes and wiped the smirk off her face as she concentrated. Bringing her hands together with her left hand over her right, it was her own personal stance she used when she concentrated. She needed to focus to pull this off as she was still learning it.

Her own move, her own technique that was unknown to anyone. Not even her father.

This was her secret but she had to make sure she perfected it before using it.

 _Relax, concentrate, focus… good._

 _Breathe in… and out. Keep a steady pace, good._

She stayed like that for almost a full minute, feeling her muscles tighten from the stance. She knew she'd only be able to try this once before she was completely exhausted.

"Ready."

Slowly moving her left foot forward while sliding her right foot backwards, Yang lifted her arms above her head in a circular motion before settling them both in front of her, with her right hand close to her chest and her left one aligned with her left foot. She focused all the weight of her body on her back foot, waiting for the right moment to push off with her front one.

She did one last mental check before she exhaled through her mouth and opened her eyes.

It was now or never.

"Go!"

Pushing off her back foot, Yang shifted all the weight off her front one in a split second. She soared through the air lifting both her right knee and right elbow in front of her, spinning her hips to twist and gain momentum during her jump. As her body twisted towards the left, she buried her elbow and knee right into the punching bag, feeling the power of her attack through her body.

But she wasn't done yet.

Still in the air and still spinning left, her back was now facing the bag, and still bringing her left arm around. Using the momentum still, she slammed her left elbow into the bag just as she was coming back around into view of the red bag and falling.

She could see it now, just as her body was almost face to face with her leathery opponent, but this was the hardest and most dangerous part of her technique. She had to time it just right…

Feeling her body dropping from her jump now, Yang kept her eyes on the swinging bag, just as it was swaying right back towards her. It was nearly upon her.

"Now!"

Letting out what could only be described as a war cry; Yang hit the ground with her left foot and bent down, absorbing all of the weight of her jump on the way down and prepared to finish her combo with a fierce right uppercut. Already she pulled her right arm back, her fist clenched and shaking with power, but suddenly she felt her body stumble off-balanced.

Feeling her left knee buckle from her decent, the blonde fighter cried out in pain as she fell to her knee, catching herself from hitting the mat below her with her hands.

"Tch."

Sucking her teeth in annoyance, Yang balled in hands into fists. She was so close but she botched her landing, putting too much strain on her leg. She was still too weak. How could she hope to use that in an actual fight if she couldn't even use it in training?

Slamming a fist into the ground, she tried to catch her breath. She felt her body tremble from the intense work out and she finally decided it was time to call it quits for the night.

Pushing herself up to stand, Yang immediately lost her balance and felt pain shoot down her left leg as she fell backwards onto her butt with a cuss. She was definitely going to feel this in the morning. Silently berating herself for being too reckless, she was angrier because this meant she wouldn't be able to train as hard tomorrow after school.

With a sigh, Yang pushed herself back up, wincing whenever she put weight on her left knee. As quickly as she could, she pushed past the double wooden doors that led to the locker room, bracing herself against the tile walls the whole way there to alleviate some of the pain. Once inside though, she found her small locker, punched in her code, and opened the metal contraption.

Grabbing the roll of bandage wrap she had as well as some ointment for sore joints, the blonde slowly and methodically applied it. Gingerly sitting down on the bench that ran down the locker room, she felt the cool gel quickly going to work. Tilting her head back as she let the gel run its course, Yang thought about school.

She'd have to go tomorrow of course, as much as she didn't want to. Not that it was hard or anything, but it was a waste of time. She had no friends in this new town, despite being here for about six months and she just didn't find anything interesting about it. It was the same old routine every day. The same classes, the same teachers, the same kids gossiping about the same old bullshit.

She hated that.

And everyone there knew she did too. When she first had enrolled there when she moved to Vale, on her very first day she had gotten into a fight. Smiling at the memory, Yang recalled the scuffle. It technically _wasn't_ her fault, but she made sure as hell that she finished it.

Some jerk named Cardin tried to pick on her, since she was the new girl, but she blew him off, trying her hardest to not fall into her old habits once again. But once the prick pulled on her hair when she walked away from him, it was on.

She remembered reeling on the boy so fast that she could see the confusion and fear in his eyes when she did it. A quick left hook to the temple followed by a leg sweep put the idiot down quicker than he could even react. She remembered being so pissed at that moment that she was getting ready to kick him while he was down but as luck would have it the assistant principal, Miss Goodwitch, spotted the whole thing.

Not even making it to her first class, Yang was seated in the office not ten minutes later, having to explain herself and already becoming familiar with the school faculty.

But after that, most… if not all the students had stayed away from her. They avoided her as if she was some kind of rabid animal but she didn't care. In fact she liked it better that way. So called _friends_ were nothing more than just a label for people to get close to you and betray you later. She wouldn't make that mistake again, not in this new town.

She remembered what happened at her old school, her old life. And why her mother had to send her here to live with a father that already had a new family.

Sighing at the memories, Yang ran her hands through her hair, untangling it. Her mood soured instantly thinking about the old wounds from her past, and it didn't help she was already feeling grouchy. With another sigh, she got to work wrapping her knee, making sure to make it extra tight. She almost regretted walking here, opting to not have ridden her bike earlier. Her earlier plan was to jog home when she was finished, but that wasn't happening anymore.

Standing up and testing her weight on her leg, Yang found that she did a decent job on the wrap; the pain was still there but muted. She was no stranger to a little discomfort though, she'd make it home.

Not bothering to change out of her workout clothes, the blonde quickly shut the lights off in the locker room and the main gym room before heading towards the exit. She took one last look around the area before shutting the door, making sure to lock it up and even double checking it. All she needed was to find out that she didn't lock it up properly.

Now outside the large brick building, Yang stared up at the night sky. It was another cloudless night with a full moon out. The weather was pleasant enough though with it being the beginning of spring. For a split second however, Yang contemplated calling her father to come pick her up, but she quickly snuffed that idea out of her mind. She didn't need any favors from him.

"But it'd sure be nice to have a car right about now." Yang mused to herself as she stuffed her hands in her pocket, a smile forming on her face as she was beginning to walk down the sidewalk towards her home.

"Or a motorcycle."

She had her license already, having gotten it back in her old town, but she didn't have a vehicle of her own. She drove her mom's old car around when she could but those days were long gone now. She didn't even think about asking her father or Summer, her step-mother, about borrowing theirs. Though, they did let Ruby use it whenever she asked.

Thinking about her new _younger sister_ caused Yang's earlier smile to turn into a frown. They were half-sisters, sure, but Yang had no interest in learning about the daughter her father had had with another woman. Despite all the false kindness Ruby showed to her, Yang knew it was just a mask. She wanted nothing to do with the overly friendly girl.

She was fine on her own.

And she always would be.


End file.
